The Ambidexterity of Managers' Networks

Addressing the call for a deeper understanding of ambidexterity at the individual level, we propose that managers? networks are an important yet understudied factor in the ability to balance the trade-off between exploring for new business and exploiting existing business. Analyses of 1449 ties in the networks of 79 senior partners in a management consulting firm revealed significant differences in both the structure and nature of ties of networks of managers who were able to both exploit and explore compared to managers that were able to predominately explore or exploit. The findings suggest that managers? networks are important levers for their ability to behave ambidextrously and offer implications for theories of organizational ambidexterity.